Pietersen keen to push on

Profiles / Editor / 29 May 2007 / Leave a Comment

Kevin Pietersen has urged England to kick on and build on their winning momentum ahead of a busy summer.

The Hampshire ace weighed in with a double century at Headingley to help England on their way to a total of 570-7 declared against the struggling West Indies before Peter Moores' men went on to win the second Test by an innings and 283 runs and take a 1-0 lead in the four-match series.

The two nations meet again at Old Trafford on June 7, with England the overwhelming 1.06 favourites in Betfair's Series Winner market. The Windies have drifted out to 65, while a drawn series is trading at 23.

Pietersen feels England have responded perfectly to their 5-0 winter whitewash in Australia but knows they face tougher challenges in the future, with India beginning a three-match Test series against the Three Lions on July 19.

"It was a hard winter, not a lot of enjoyment, but everyone can see we still enjoy our cricket - we still want to play the best we can," said Pietersen, who is the 1.15 leader in Betfair's Top England Runscorer market.

"We want to make [the] opposition scared of this new England team, if you can call it that.

"We've got a lot of games to play and better opposition to come up against, but it's a sign that they've still got to have a look at us because of the way we played this Test match."

England are the early 1.54 favourites in a newly-formed Test Series Winner market, with Rahul Dravid's men trading at 2.68 and the drawn series available at 3.15.